Phillies hold off Pirates in Pettibone's debut

PHILADELPHIA -- In 1984, just three years after finishing a distinguished career as a slugger in Japan and in his second year back with the franchise that originally signed him to a pro contract -- the Minnesota Twins -- Charlie Manuel was named manager of the organization’s Double-A affiliate, Orlando.

On his pitching staff he had a tall right-hander named Jay Pettibone. Pettibone went 3-6 with a 4.28 ERA for Manuel before he was called up to Triple-A.

In the 29 years since then, Manuel has gone on to win 956 games and a World Series title as a big-league manager. The guy who helped him get win No. 956 was a 22-year-old rookie right-hander, Jonathan Pettibone -- Jay Pettibone’s son.

The younger Pettibone made his big-league debut for the Phillies Monday night and did what they hoped he could do. The right-hander worked into the sixth inning, left with it tied and saw the Phils use his solid start to take a 3-2 win over the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park.

“The first couple of innings the nerves were going a little bit,” Pettibone said. “Once I settled down I got in a nice little rhythm there.”

Did managing the son of a player he managed in the minors make the 69-year-old manager feel old?

“Not really,” Manuel said. “I think old is about how you feel, what you make of yourself.

“If I manage his grandson, I think that would be great. I’d like that. That’d be super.”

Manuel remembered Pettibone’s father as a smart guy who had enough going for him to make a good life for himself once his playing days were up.

“He pitched for me in the days we carried eight or nine pitchers,” Manuel said of Pettibone’s dad. “I had a four-man rotation, and he was one of my starters.

“When Jonathan first signed (in 2008) I saw him at Dodgers Stadium.”

Jay Pettibone and the rest of Jonathan’s family took a red-eye flight to Philly to catch his debut. The elder Pettibone did make four big-league starts in late 1983 for the Twins, but never did get a W.

“Yeah, he always talks about (his debut) because he got a CG (complete game),” the younger Pettibone said. “So that’s a little better than mine. He’ll remind me from time to time.

“He’s definitely happy to be here. I got to see him before I came (to the ballpark) and he gave me a few tips.”

There was reason to wonder if the younger Pettibone was up for this. He had a shaky spring, then got knocked around in his first two starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Still, as one of the Phils’ top pitching prospects entering the year, he was given a shot to see if he was capable of filling in for John Lannan while he recovers from a knee injury.

There was nothing lacking on this night. He gave up a couple of solo homers to Pedro Alvarez and Russell Martin, but otherwise held his own. In fact, his six strikeouts were the most by a pitcher in his big-league debut with the Phils since Cole Hamels.

Another big key: No walks allowed.

“The game plan was being aggressive,” Pettibone said. “I didn’t want to pick around the strike zone. I wanted to pitch to my strengths and go after them.”

Pettibone fell behind when Alvarez homered in the second, but the Phillies got that back in the bottom of the third when Pettibone walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Pirates starter A.J. Burnett. The Phils loaded the bases in the fourth and took a 2-1 lead when a Burnett curve whacked Jimmy Rollins in the back. Martin tied it in the fifth, and when Manuel decided to go with Raul Valdes to finish off the sixth against left-handed hitters, Pettibone was out of the running for the win.

The Phils put together a two-out rally in the sixth that pushed across the go-ahead run. Erik Kratz worked a two-out walk, and Ezequiel Carrera finally got his first hit as a Phillie when he used his speed and a pretty effective headfirst slide to turn his slow grounder into an infield hit. Rollins picked up his 800th career RBI when he hooked a single to right to score Kratz.

The bullpen, much maligned for some mid-inning meltdowns in the opening two weeks, got three terrific innings from Antonio Bastardo, Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon, who notched his fourth save.